Guardian of the Black Forest
by RagnarokGamer
Summary: Mere minutes after the nine tails attack, young Naruto is sent away by the Sandaime Hokage to be brought up by the secretive Uzumaki clan, a clan that has not been heard from since its apparent destruction many years ago. He will be trained in his clan arts and when Konoha needs him again, he will be there.
1. Summon the Guardian

**Summary: After the sealing of the nine tails, Hiruzen Sarutobi became worried for the safety of its Jinchuuriki. Desperate to keep him safe, Hiruzen contacts a long thought deceased clan in the hopes of giving young Naruto a chance at a normal life. Now, fourteen years later, the Chunin exams are underway and a betrayal of epic proportions is in full swing. Caught between fighting off his insane student and keeping his village safe from invaders, Hiruzen must bring Naruto home, hoping beyond hope that he had become strong enough to help.**

Chapter 1: Summon the Guardian

"Secure the gates! No one gets in or out!"

"Yes sir!"

The shinobi of Konoha were caught unaware, the betrayal of the Hidden Sound and Sand during the Chunin exams could not have come at a worse time, with two villages combining strength to attack from within the village walls, the forces of Konoha found themselves hard pressed to assemble an effective counter-attack.

No one, however, was caught more unaware than the villages leader, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha.

"Your insanity knows no bounds Orochimaru!" He bellowed across the rooftop he found himself trapped upon with his wayward student, a chakra barrier of some sort had been sprung up around them, preventing escape or rescue.

"Kukuku, only those blind to progress would call my brilliance, insanity, Sarutobi-sensei"

Orochimaru licked his lips in sadistic pleasure, his sensei had grown old and had weakened with time whereas he had only flourished, growing stronger over the years with every new jutsu he discovered.

Hiruzen recoiled slightly in disgust, what had happened to his student? What could he have done to prevent the monster that now wore his students face?

"I will not let you destroy this village my old student, I will protect them no matter what"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes heavenward at his sensei's useless determination, some people just didn't know when to quit.

"It's useless sensei, even if you defeat me, my forces will have already destroyed your village and my revenge will have been completed, face it, without help you can't do anything"

Hiruzen's determination seemed to wilt slightly when he heard this, how could he defeat this monster and protect the village? Subconsciously his hand came to rest upon a familiar golden necklace that hung loosely around his neck, a swirling whirlpool the same as the one that decorated the shoulders of his shinobi's flak jackets.

That's when it came to him, if he couldn't do it alone, then why not call for someone he knew that could help.  
Looking up into the disturbing visage of his pupil, Hiruzen let a confident smirk grace his lips, this was sure to piss the snake charmer off for sure.

"That's where your wrong my misguided pupil, for no matter where I am, the will of fire provides!"

Ripping the pendent from his neck Hiruzen performed a set of lightening quick seals before slamming it into the tiled rooftop at his feet.

"Guardians of the black forest!"

Orochimaru attempted to interfere by thrusting a sleeve full of snakes towards his sensei, not wanting to risk his victory on the last ditch effort of a desperate old man.

A cloud of black smoke enveloped the rooftop obscuring his view of the Hokage. He couldn't tell if his snakes had hit the old man but when he tried to pull them back he found them unresponsive and as tight as stretched rope.

When the smoke eventually cleared, Orochimaru stood wide eyed as a figure of black chainmail armour, shaped to resemble a fox, stood holding the snakes in one clawed, gauntlet hand. The figure stood at a height of 5'10", just as tall as himself and stood from head to toe in a black armour not found amongst shinobi. A black helmet shaped like a fox's head covered their face and various bits of thick chainmail and armour plating covered the rest of their body. Three blades as dark as night protruded from each gauntlet hand and no other visible weapon was present.

What caught his attention the most however was the three black tails that swished calmly from side to side behind them and more so was the deep, blood red eyes that stared back from beneath the helmet.

"This isn't exactly how I imagined visiting you here old man"

Despite the threatening appearance and waves of power that rolled off him, he sounded surprisingly young and jovial.

Hiruzen thanked whatever god that had been listening when he prayed that this jutsu would work. Truthfully this jutsu hadn't been used since the time of the first Hokage and as such he wasn't sure if it would work first time.

"Neither did I Naruto-kun, but as you can see, I am rather desperate"

Orochimaru felt the grip on his snakes increase and could hear the painful hisses they gave off as a result.

"Want me to handle it?"

Hiruzen observed the young man critically, he had no doubt that he was powerful, he could feel it in the air, but this was his fight, he just needed his village safe.

"No, he is not the only enemy here today"

Both Orochimaru and Naruto, although you couldn't see it, looked surprised at this, surely Orochimaru was the more pressing threat?

Noting the look Hiruzen nodded tiredly, he had his reasons, as insane as they may seem.

"I need you to secure the village Naruto-kun, its safety comes before mine and this is my fight"

Naruto's armoured shoulders visibly slumped, this fight looked like it could of been fun, but the old man was right, the people came first.

"Fair enough old man, what are your orders?"

Orochimaru stared on in disbelief before that soon turned to angered frustration.

"Don't you dare forget about me! I will not be ig-"  
His rant was cut off as Naruto pulled suddenly on the snakes, forcing the disturbed Sannin off his feet and flying forward into the waiting fists, claws retracted, of the armoured teen.

The hit landed square into his face, causing the missing nin to go lurching back into the opposite direction, skidding across the rooftop sending tiles and wooden splinters flying in every which way, his snakes disappearing in a painful burst of smoke.

"Quiet you, the sane people are talking"

Hiruzen sweat dropped slightly at the casual way in which he mocked one of the most powerful ninja to come out of Konoha.

"You were saying?" He inquired smoothly, wiping imaginary dust from his hands.

"Y-yes, I need you to go throughout the village securing all the major conflict areas, here in the stadium, the gates, the walls and the main road"

Naruto nodded before giving off a short, high pitched whistle. Stepping out of what appeared to be thin air, but was most likely an illusion, a large black fox covered in similar armour to Naruto, appeared by his side, three tails swishing behind it. It was as big as a horse and from what he could see, had thick muscles made for running and overpowering enemies hidden beneath its black armour.

"I'll keep the village safe old man, but I'm not leaving you without help"

Forming a single hand sign in his left hand, a group of red chains suddenly burst from his back before shooting into the tiled roof. Seconds later four screams of shock and pain ripped through the air as the members of the Sound Four were suddenly entrapped in the tight grip of red chains, the action causing the barrier surrounding them to fail and fall apart, allowing the Anbu in the area to appear by the Hokages side.

With a twitch of his shoulder blades the chains suddenly ripped through three out of the four assailants, leaving only one red headed female who was soon rendered unconscious by a quick lightning jutsu travelling through the chains.

When the Hokage looked questioningly at him, Naruto merely shrugged as the chains retracted back into his back.  
"Just a hunch, but going by her hair and the feel of her chakra, I'd say she's Uzumaki by blood"

Mounting the giant fox by his side, which Hiruzen only just noticed was saddled, Naruto gave a quick salute before nudging the fox into jumping into the surrounding stands where most of the stadium fighting was happening.

Hiruzen gave a tired sigh as his eyes finally rested upon the form of his student, struggling to pull himself free of the rubble that had encompassed him when he'd landed.

"This ends today"

When Naruto and his fox companion had come crashing into the stadium stands hacking and ripping into whatever Sand and Sound ninja they could find, the ninja of Konoha had at first been weary of their arrival, that soon changed when Naruto let loose an uncountable amount a chains from the palms of his hands that instantly shredded the invasion force in one fell swoop, leaving nothing put mutilated corpses and those with gruesome wounds screaming into the air.

Happy that he had cleared this section of the arena, Naruto retracted the chains and approached a silver haired, one eyed Jounin that looked to be giving out commands.

"The Hokage sent me, I've taken down the barrier and reinforced him with Anbu, what's the condition of your forces?"

The Jounin gave him at first a suspicious look before casting his gaze to what appeared to be the Hokage and a group of Anbu fighting off a solitary, yet enraged looking, Orochimaru.

Taking the scene as proof enough, the Jounin relaxed his stance and took a head count of those around him. Seeing their commander relax around the stranger, the rest of the ninja relaxed as well before tending to any wounded friends and allies in the area.

"We have a few wounded but not too many, we can still fight"  
Naruto nodded contently before offering his hand out in a shake.  
"Naruto Uzumaki, Captain of the Fourth Mounted Shinobi Battalion, Sixth Division, Uzumaki clan"

The Jounin raised an eyebrow at the long title before accepting the hand with his own.  
"Jounin Kakashi Hatake, Jounin sensei of team seven"

The two gave a single shake of hands before returning them back to their sides.

"The Hokage has instructed me to help in reinforcing certain areas of the defence forces, I'll need a few Konoha shinobi to help prevent any friendly fire on your end"

"Very well, however I myself must attend to other matters, two of my students have just taken off after a not so stable Sand Genin team and I'd like to ensure their safety"

Naruto raised a non-visible eyebrow at this, seriously, what was it with bad guys and being psycho? Why can't there ever be a sane bad guy? Something in the back of his mind told him that the two go hand in hand but he shrugged it off to give his solution to the dilemma.

"I can send a few people to help out in your stead, your needed here more than there"

When Kakashi looked to retort that from what he had seen, there was only one of him, Naruto let out two short, high pitched whistles that summoned six other mounted shinobi by his side, also seemingly from thin air, these shinobi however wore dark grey armour instead of black as did their foxes all of whom only seemed to possess two tails instead of Naruto's three.

"Three of my men will help your students, the other three will help secure the arena, I can summon more if the need be"

Kakashi nodded dumbly having not seen Naruto's own entrance and even more shocked to find he couldn't track the sudden appearance with his now visible Sharingan eye. Shaking off the shock and calling out orders to the equally shocked ninja surrounding them, Naruto and Kakashi set off for the main northern gates whilst their subordinates set off to follow out with their orders.

Bouncing from rooftop to rooftop, Naruto, mounted on his companion, and Kakashi met no resistance in the form of any invading forces as they came upon the battleground that was the main gates.

"We'll need to clear the area before we can close the gates, that'll stop any-"  
Kakashi's instructions were cut off as a giant three headed snake came crashing through the village walls a few miles away from where they stood.

"Ah, well, honestly did not see that coming" he said with a sweat drop.

"That things going to be a pain to deal with, I don't have the time to be playing dodge the giant poisonous snake, looks like I'll have to call in the Sixth, I've had them on standby since I was summoned"

Kakashi looked uncertain of this but asked anyway.  
"Just how many Uzumaki shinobi are we talking about here?"  
Naruto dismounted and began weaving through hand signs as he spoke, preparing to expel a lot of chakra in order to get the order to the right amount of people.

"Each Battalion has six hundred shinobi, that's a hundred per Division"

With a flare of chakra and before Kakashi could say otherwise, Naruto slammed his palm into the earth before a large amount of black smoke suddenly covered the rooftops in a wide radius around them.

The Sound and Sand shinobi nearby gave a cheer as they falsely believed someone had set the nearby buildings aflame and prepared to fight with renewed vigour before they were stopped dead by a multitude of strong killer intent coming from a hundred grey armoured, two tailed shinobi mounted on top of equally grey, giant twin tailed armoured foxes.

Naruto stood upright and brought his hands up to remove his fox like helmet. Slipping it off his head revealed a mop of unruly, spiky blonde hair, bright, crisp blue eyes and three faint whisker marks per cheek. His high cheek bones and full lips made him quite handsome to the kunoichi, on both sides, that turned to watch him.

Noticing the attention Naruto turned an oblivious look towards them, feeling slightly unnerved by the unknown, at least to him, emotions hidden not so successfully behind the look itself.

"What?"

Realising they'd been caught staring the shinobi disengaged from their current fights in an effort to regroup against the sudden army that had appeared in their midst, although those from Konoha, noticing Kakashi, regrouped behind him to take a breather.

Kakashi found himself dumbstruck, at first when Naruto had revealed his face he had been all too tempted to shout out to what he thought was his old sensei reincarnated, however with the faint whisker marks and more youthful appearance, he was soon sobered from this sudden lurch of hope and instead had been forced into a new realisation.

'It can't be, he's supposed to be dead!'  
At first he had been suspicious of his name, there was something almost too familiar about it but the memory was just out of reach, that was until he'd seen his face and come to a gut wrenching realisation.

'That's sensei's son!'

Unaware of the inner struggle his Konoha counterpart was having, Naruto began dishing out orders to his men just as the enemy shinobi prepared to reinitiate the battle once again.

"Squad A, engage the enemy and clear the gates!"

Twenty-five mounted shinobi instantly leapt away to engage the approaching enemy with a ferocity that made the enemy hesitate in fear.

"Squad B, clear the main road! Squad C, engage the freaky snake before it flattens anymore buildings!"

Both squads separated into different directions to accomplish their objectives, becoming nothing but streaks of grey across the rooftops.

Turning back to Kakashi, who had finally returned to awareness, Naruto awaited instruction. Normally he'd make most of his own decisions but seeing as he knew next to nothing about this village it was probably his safest bet to leave some of the decision making to someone that did.

"Awaiting your orders Kakashi-san"

Blinking one solitary eye in wonder at the sudden disappearance of such a large force, Kakashi ran all he knew about the current situation through his head before coming to a decision.

"Can you tell me the status of my students?"

Naruto nodded his head and reached a hand towards what appeared to be a radio set attached to his left ear.

"Natami this is Naruto, sit-rep, over"

"Captain this is Natami, we have a problem sir this sand team appears to have a Jinchuuriki amongst them and we aren't equipped for this, relay instruction, over"

Eyes widening in sudden fear and then narrowing in determination Naruto signalled for the remaining squad D to prepare for combat.

"Natami this is Naruto, we're coming to reinforce, for now keep a distance and distract it from the village with long range jutsu, do you copy? Over"

The radio was silent for a moment before a new voice came over the radio, this one was masculine and gruff sounding.  
"Captain this is Lee, Natami's unconscious but we heard you, commencing manoeuvre now, out"

Happy that his orders were being followed Naruto resituated his helmet on his head and comprised Kakashi of the situation before ordering his squad in the direction of the unstable Jinchuuriki, Kakashi and a few Chunin following closely behind.

Naruto's mind was a swirl of worries before a calming, feminine voice soothed him from the depths off his mind.

"It's ok Naruto-kun, we can handle whichever of the Biju are involved"

Looking down at his most trusted friend and battle partner, Naruto ran a thankful palm across her side through a gap in her armour where fur could be seen.

'Thanks Kura-chan, I know I can do it with you by my side'

Receiving a happy purr in response Naruto set his sights on the rapidly approaching forests and sounds of fighting ahead of them. Clicking his head set again Naruto addressed the squad members around him.

"Alright listen up, I want everyone to create a large circular perimeter around the Jinchuuriki and try to deflect it from escaping towards the village with a high level barrier, I'm going to engage it with Kurama and try to take it into custody, without killing them preferably, do not interfere, got it?"

A series of yes sirs was heard just as they entered the forest.

"Kakashi-san can you hear me?"

"Yes Naruto, I can hear you"

"Good, I want you and any Konoha shinobi with you to try and prevent anyone from interfering with our operation, we need to get this Jinchuuriki under control without problems, can you follow my orders in this situation?"

There was a pause as Kakashi seemed to consider this before his reluctant voice came back to life.

"Can you promise to ensure my pupils safety?"

Naruto sighed regretfully for a second before answering, his voice filled with what sounded like previous experience in this type of situation.

"I can't make that sort of promise, but I can do my damned best"

When Kakashi responded he sounded more sure of his decision to trust the blonde.

"Good, your realistic, this is all I ask then, I'll follow your orders Captain"

Satisfied with his answer Naruto gave the signal for his squad to get into position. Half a mile wide from the centre outwards none of the squad members could see each other through the trees but that was unrequired for the technique they were preparing. With a combined shout that rang through the forest a red swirling barrier of energy turned the battle scarred forest into a domed arena, nothing coming in, nothing coming out.

Kakashi and his ten Chunin watched on in wonder as the giant done came to life, the pure chakra behind the technique appeared with impressive strength.  
Turning to his team he gave out orders.

"Alright split off into teams of two and patrol the outskirts of the dome, no one is to interfere and I want constant check-ins ever five minutes, understood?"

"Hai!"

Within the dome Naruto and Kurama came to a stop on a large branch overlooking the battlefield where a small red headed teen, obviously the Jinchuuriki if the waves of chakra were anything to go by, was constantly attacking the squad he had sent earlier with waves of bone crushing sand as the team itself tried to defend a trio of unconscious bodies, one a ravenhead and one a disturbing shade of pink with the third undoubtedly being Natami , from being squished.

"We need to do this quickly and wrap things up in the village, I suggest we over power him before he can release his Biju"

Looking down at his companion Naruto noticed the significant eye roll at his suggestion.

"You always want to overpower them, it's like your 'go to' remedy or something"

Naruto flicked his partners unarmoured ear in response receiving a satisfactory yelp in return.

"You'll pay for that later"

Chuckling at his friends idol threat Naruto dismounted and prepared for action, glancing towards his friend earnestly.

"Oh fine, just don't make a habit of this"

Noting the lack of response and over eager grin on his face, Kurama pulsed her chakra outwards before condensing it towards a seal on Naruto's stomach.

Naruto grunted at the sudden intrusion and steadied himself as he felt the power go to work. His three furry tails gained a fourth made of pure red energy that bubbled and hissed against whatever it touched.  
Kurama sat back on her haunches happy with her work as she felt the other changes take place.

Under his helmet, Naruto felt his canines grow long enough to protrude slightly over his bottom lip and although he couldn't feel it, he knew his whisker marks were now more noticeable.

Satisfied with the extra bout of energy, Naruto pushed of the branch with a chakra enforced shove, sending him hurtling towards the deranged Jinchuriki who by now was half covered by demonically shaped sand.

Just as the red head thought he had the pesky weaklings cornered and was prepared to squish the life out of them, a powerful black fist smashed into his side sending him hurtling through a group of trees, smashing through each one before coming to an ungraceful stop at a particularly thick based oak.

Looking up into the eyes of his attacker the red head was frustrated to find yet another armoured fox man trying to disturb his fun, the only difference being that this one was black and felt powerful, yes this would do, this, would prove his existence!

Seeing the Jinchuuriki standing back to his feet, Naruto quickly ordered his team to exit the dome and seek out medical attention but not to interfere in any way.  
Knowing the full extent of their injuries and trusting their Captain fully, the team disappeared as instructed.

Turning back towards his opponent Naruto tilted his head slightly as he observed the now fully standing Jinchuuriki.

"So, you gonna tell me your name or what red?"

The red head snarled at the nickname but answered anyway, if somewhat roughly.

"Gaara"

Naruto noted that the sand covering Gaara seemed to be slowly encompassing his body and as it did, his time before he had to face a full Biju grew smaller.

"Well then Gaara, gonna have to ask nicely that you stand down, the invasion is being fought off and I really don't want to have to hurt you"

That last part was apparently the wrong thing to say as Gaara seemed to scream/roar something along the line of existence before shooting towards Naruto almost too quick for him to see... Almost.

Dodging to the side Naruto narrowly avoided a sand infused fist meant to flatten him and flung his arms out to the sides where his black metal claws sprung to life above his knuckles.

Taking advantage of his opponents slower mobility due to such heavy sand, Naruto shot behind Gaara and slashed his right fist outwards allowing his claws, infused with chakra, to pierce through his sand leaving a slash that the Jinchuuriki's ultimate defence was too slow to deflect, but not too slow to retaliate.

Cursing to himself Naruto leapt back as a tendril of sand, hardened into a deadly sharpness, left a deep gouge in the armour of his right shoulder as it tried to skewer him.

Not prepared to give his opponent any time to recover, Gaara span around and with a wave of his arm sent flying multiple sand based shuriken that proved too many and far too close to dodge. Bringing his claws up to defend his chest and face Naruto grunted as they pierced through parts of his armour where it was thinner than other areas.

Frustrated and realising he know had even less time, Naruto decided it was time to end this game before it went too far. Flying through a set of seals he only ever used once before in a similar situation, Naruto prepared his most powerful anti-Jinchuuriki technique.

"Uzumaki Art: Black Forest Repression!"

Throwing his arms forward, palms facing his opponent, a huge amount of black chakra chains shot out from his back and his palms, flying faster than the eye could see.

Gaara attempted to dodge with his Biju enhanced speed and reflexes but found himself too slow when he suddenly ended up wrapped against a thick tree unable to move without them tightening around him.

He roared in anger as he felt the chakra of his tenant being forced back into his less than adequate seal with his own human chakra also being surprised. The sand he had become so used to jumping to his aid subconsciously, tried desperately to smash through the chains before he was rendered totally defenceless.

Naruto watched on confused as, when the Biju chakra, as well as Gaara's natural chakra, was surprised the sand seemed to take on a mind of its own as it took the shape of an unknown short haired woman who looked upon the now unconscious Gaara with utmost affection and love.

When Naruto stepped closer the figure turned towards him causing him to raise his fists ready for a fight.  
The woman raised a placating hand and to his surprise, spoke.

"Please, look after my Gaara, he's a good boy, he just needs help"

Suddenly seeing the resemblance between the two Naruto came to a startling conclusion and with the utmost respect, one only granted to a few people, bowed deeply to the sand figure.  
"I give you my word"

When he stood up straight again he was surprised to find no remnants of the woman, only a scattering of airborne sand and what sounded like a faint 'thankyou' on the wind.

Shaking his head at the strange occurrence, Naruto detached the chains from his palms and back, keeping them in existence and tied tightly around Gaara through will power alone and lifted the redhead over his shoulder to carry back towards the village.

When Kakashi felt as well as saw the barrier fall from his position at the perimeter, he knew the battle was over. Approaching where he felt Naruto regrouping with his squad he was surprised as well as impressed to see a for the most part unharmed Naruto carrying an exhausted and chain wrapped Gaara over his shoulder.

"Prepare to return to the village and someone contact the other squads and get me a sit-rep"

Naruto saw Kakashi approaching and settled Gaara onto the back of Kurama, just in front of the saddle before removing his helmet and offering a friendly smile.

"Mission accomplished I take it?" Kakashi asked with a relieved eye smile.

"Of course, as if there was any doubt" Naruto's slightly winded reply and the slight shake in his muscles that Naruto was well aware Kakashi noticed, left the two chuckling in the aftermath of a stressful day.

"Any news from the village Kakashi-san?"

"Orochimaru has been driven back after the timely arrival of the Sannin Jiraiya and most of the enemy force has either fled, been killed or taken into custody"

Naruto nodded in satisfaction before mounting Kurama just behind Gaara, ready for the ride back.

"What about the old man?"  
Seeing the confused look on the Jounin Naruto decided to be more specific.

"The Hokage"

Unsure as to how to address the Captains less than respectful term for the villages most powerful ninja, Kakashi relayed what he had heard.

"I got word that he's been injured, Orochimaru managed to get in a glancing strike with his blade, it was covered in poison so the Hokage is held up in the Hospital whilst they try to find an antidote"

Naruto's face scrunched up in worry before he replaced his helmet and without another word nudged Kurama into a sprint towards the village, his squad following close behind.

Kakashi shook his head at the blondes many strange behaviours before signalling to his men to follow as well.

Half an hour later after securing his Division with their new orders and taking stock of wounded and losses, Naruto sat helmetless at the bedside of a man he'd only ever talked to through letters and photographs in the past, a man who had become an important figure in his life and a man who now sat pale and unconscious in a hospital bed, unresponsive to any attempts to cure his ailment.

"You've really done it now old man, imagine letting some snake eyed creep do this to you huh?"

Getting no response but not really expecting one, Naruto turned his attention to the man stood in the door way, someone the Hokage had mentioned and described a few times in his previous letters.

"Jiraiya-san" he said with a respectful nod, although something in his eyes told the Sannin it was more due to his position than him as a person, apparently a certain sensei of his had mentioned the less than respectful side of his habits.

"How ya doin brat?"

Taking the response as permission to be less formal, as was intended, Naruto let out a heavy sigh as his whole body seemed to sag in his seat and his tails fell limply to the ground.

"Better, I suppose, that sealing jutsu really took it out of me"

Jiraiya didn't respond at first, instead opting to bring a seat over to sit beside him whilst letting out an equally tired sigh as he dropped into it.

"Yeah that damned teammate of mine took it out of me too"

The two sat in a comfortable silence as they stared worryingly towards the fragile form of the village leader.

"Is there anything we can do?"

Jiraiya glanced at the young man next to him from the corner of his eye before reaching into his clothing to pull out a small piece of paper.  
Naruto took the offered paper that turned out to be a picture of a young blonde woman who to Naruto seemed to radiate (if that's even possible for a picture) a powerful beauty that could only come from an experienced kunoichi.

"Making him a sugar daddy won't make him better, horny maybe, but not better" he deadpanned

Jiraiya guffawed in laughter at this, clutching his sides as he tried to control the aching sound.  
Finally gaining control of his breathing he wiped a tear from his eye and clasped the boy by his shoulder whilst pointing at the picture.

"As funny as that would be to attempt, that my friend, is Tsunade Senju, my teammate and fellow Sannin and she also just so happens to be the best medic-nin in the world"

Naruto looked optimistic at this and asked the first question that popped into mind.

"So she can cure the old man right?"

Jiraiya sat back in his chair with a content smile on his face.

"Oh she can help him alright and you're gonna help me find her"

End Chapter 


	2. Politics, Medicine and Confrontation

"You want my help?"

Jiraiya nodded once and turned a critical eye to the young man.

"Indeed, with the resources at your command, I have no doubt that finding Tsunade will be simple and quick"

To Jiraiya's surprise Naruto seemed to turn slightly agitated at this statement, standing straighter in his seat and looking at him with what his men had come to call, his "business look".

"My men have already come to Konoha's aid, I lost some good men defending a village I have no legal requirement to defend"

"You would risk the Hokage's life over legal matters?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes in further irritation, just what was he expecting him to do? Tell his men they weren't going home simply because, even if he was important to him, some old man needed a doctor?

"The Uzumaki clan head, my distant cousin, would have to approve of such action, you also have to consider that it would be us who would have to pay for those resources as I'm sure whoever is running things in the old man's stead, wouldn't want to fork out such a bill when they can get you to do it for free and under orders"

Jiraiya sat back in his chair, he hadn't thought of that. This wasn't, however, just some old man, this was the village leader and helping him in his time of need would be beneficial politics wise for the country of Uzushiogakure.

"This is probably something best left discussed with the temporary village council" he said in resignation, he had been hoping that the brat would jump at the opportunity to help, but apparently he was capable of seeing the consequences of his actions a lot better than most his age.

"Temporary village council?"

Naruto asked slightly confused. Surely, just like back home, the council was a more permanent thing?

Jiraiya nodded slightly, he'd forgotten that most places didn't have such a thing and would probably find this setup strange.

"Indeed, if at any point the Hokage is unable to perform his duties, a council is made up of the shinobi clan heads, the Hokage's advisors and a select group of people representing the civilian populace, at any other time the Hokage is supposed to rule with absolute power"

Jiraiya rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, things weren't, however, as simple as that recently.

"Although I have to admit that sensei has been relying on his advisors to take over certain duties a bit too much lately, they've become comfortable with their newfound political power and can be quite a pain at times"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this, apparently Konoha's political structure wasn't as firmly set as they lead outsiders to believe.

"Either way, I can't make this decision alone, I'll have to contact Yamato-sama in order to gain his approval to act on his behalf and then I'll have to be approached officially by Konoha's council... This really isn't my forte"

Jiraiya chuckled as he stood, indicating for Naruto to follow him as he exited and began walking down the hall, feeling the presence of the nearby hidden Anbu retake their positions in and around the room now that he had left.

Walking side by side both men watched grimly as Konoha shinobi were rushed in and out of various operating rooms, some with mortal wounds others poisoned with substances both known and unknown.

"Konoha took a big hit today, will you recover?" They'd exited out onto a large street by the time he'd asked and the evidence of the failed invasion was everywhere they looked, damaged buildings, craters, even a few foreign corpses still littered various areas.

"We'll recover, we've survived worse"

He glanced over at Naruto meaningfully, catching his meaning Naruto subconsciously laid a hand over his chainmail stomach though purposefully he stopped himself from glancing over at his kitsune friend who had been following from a distance ever since they had left the hospital. The civilians had yet to be released from the emergency bunkers whilst the ninja checked for any hidden shinobi that had been unable to escape and had resorted to hiding. Though even now, he could see a few shinobi giving him and his companion a wide birth, glaring hatefully at the fox and him by association.

"The people are still recovering emotionally from the attack fourteen years ago, some are constantly reminded physically about it every time they look in the mirror, so don't be surprised if you and your people are less than welcome here"

Naruto snorted sarcastically, if this was "less than welcome" he'd hate to see outright hostile.

"Not my village, not my problem"

Jiraiya shook his head sadly but didn't say anything in return, instead he took them both towards an open training field surrounded by woodland where his division had been allowed to make camp. Multiple rows of camouflage tents had been set up in a grid like formation and although they weren't currently being deployed and in spite of the midday heat, not one walked around without their helmets in place, or their katana blades by their sides, their Kitsune partners stood not far away keeping sentry around the perimeter, taking guard whilst their partners relaxed, which was only slightly different from their battle ready stances because they spoke in a more casual manner than their professional one.

Jiraiya stopped just out of earshot of the nearest sentry, gesturing for Naruto to do the same.

"Something the matter Jiraiya-san?"

"Just wondering how a fourteen year old became the Captain of a battle group of one hundred highly trained soldiers"

The question was innocent enough and didn't require him revealing village secrets, so with a mischievous smile Naruto replaced his helmet back on his head and spoke in a slightly muffled, but clear, voice.

"Promise not to tell? Even the council?"

Figuring why the hell not, wasn't like it was going to be anything noteworthy anyway, he gave his word to the young Captain.

Satisfied that he would keep his word, Naruto began walking towards his own command tent that sat at the entrance to the camp, at least twice the size of the other tents, enough to fit around six people comfortably, it was where he ate, slept and planned, a 'home away from home'.

"We're all Genin, I just happened to be the best"

Satisfied with the look of shock and disbelief currently showing on the Sannins face, Naruto nodded to the two sentry fox's who let him through without problem, as it was, even without visual confirmation, every fox in the division knew his scent and presence off by heart, him being the 'alpha' and all, which made impersonating him almost impossible.

Entering his tent, he was satisfied to find all his belongings set up exactly where they needed to be. A double sized cot off to his left, a large table in the center covered in various reports and maps and a large chest off to his right filled with his belongings.

Approaching the table Naruto opened up a rectangular shaped metal box that had some sort of screen on the inside of its lid and a variety of buttons beneath it. It had been created by the Tech Corps back at home and had been dubbed the 'Portable Communicator' or 'PC' for short... Clever, I know.

Switching the device on and typing out the required commands, Naruto waited patiently for the PC on the other end to respond. Eventually the screen came to life and a nondescript shinobi appeared.

"Please state your name, rank, serial number and purpose for communication"

"Naruto Uzumaki,Genin Captain, 0-4-0-5-9-6, urgent comms for Yamato-sama regarding further support of Konoha"

The shinobi appeared to speak to someone off screen for several moments before returning his attention to Naruto.

"Yamato-sama has accepted your request, hold on and I'll put you through Captain"

Nodding his head graciously, Naruto waited as the screen went blank for several seconds before another man appeared. This man was dressed in a formal red and dark blue kimono with long blood red hair tied up in a high ponytail, his violet eyes were filled with a happy glee that would normally be hidden when it concerned other members of his country's military, his broad chin and high cheekbones gave him a look fitting his position, given all this and the slight wrinkling in the corner of his eyes, he could be most likely put around his mid- late thirties.

"Naruto my friend! How was your sudden and unexpected mission?"

Placing his helmet under his left arm and bowing deeply, an action he gave to only a select few, Naruto answered truthfully and confidently.

"All is a success Yamato-sama, Konoha has been secured and the invasion driven off"

Yamato seemed to frown slightly and made his displeasure known.

"What have I told you about addressing me like that? We are family, no? And there are no others around that justify keeping up appearances"

Naruto relaxed instantly, he wasn't sure who was in the room with his commander, so he didn't want to appear disrespectful. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with his unoccupied hand, Naruto replied in a much less formal tone.

"Sorry old man, didn't know who was in the room with you"

Yamato seemed happy with the change in tone and appeared to settle back into his chair with a content sigh.

"I hate to ask Naruto-kun, but I need to know your losses"

Nodding understandably Naruto picked up a scroll from his desk and examined it for a second before answering.

"Out of a hundred men, I have ten wounded and... Five dead" he fought to keep the lump in his throat at bay, after all, even with their less than formal tone it wouldn't do to cry in front of his leader. Yamato however knew of Naruto's deep bond with his division and internally applauded his emotional control, something the young blond never had in his younger years.

"That is unfortunate, I suppose you'll be writing to their families personally?"

"It's the right thing to do"

"You're a good man Naruto, now what's this I hear of further aid to Konoha?"

Naruto then went on to explain the current situation with the Hokage and not yet official request for help locating Tsunade, he left out no detail and when asked, made sure to include his own personal feelings on the matter.

Yamato considered the information carefully, in the long run this could prove to be politically beneficial to any future dealings with Konoha but in the here and now, it meant having an entire division away from home searching for one person who, in all likelihood from what he'd heard, did not want to be found.

"Very well, I want you to send your division home with the exception of a small group that will help with the search, I'll leave their selection up to you, search for Tsunade but don't take any unnecessary risks"

Naruto nodded once and with a final farewell the communication was cut. Walking over to the entrance of his tent he lifted the flap up to allow his companion entrance. Kurama gave an annoyed huff at being kept outside for so long to which Naruto looked apologetic for.

"Sorry Kura-chan but you know that the people of Uzushiogakure still aren't used to have an entire division of powerful kitsune on their side, they're still coming to terms with their own mistrust, while not as weary as Konoha, they still have their misgivings on such things" Kura curled up at the foot of his bed, even laying down she was still an imposing figure in the room.

"I am well aware of that, but surely if we can convince a hundred humans to bond with a kitsune partner, it would not be so hard to change the opinion of the others"

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. When he had turned nine years old, he had stumbled across a cave on a small island just off the mainland, he and his adoptive parents had visited the island as part of his training as a ninja in hopes of putting him ahead of his classmates. When he had entered the cave a deep pulse of chakra was emitted from the seal on his stomach, this resulted in a secret passageway opening up and the discovery of the portal to the kitsune summoning world.

At first the village leadership had been incredibly worried, the kitsune clan hadn't been seen since the human-fox war that had been waged beyond the prying eyes of the other nations four hundred years prior.

It took months of debate and arguments to finally decide to make contact again, only to find out that the only person who could enter the portal, was Naruto.

Being only nine at the time, his parents had worried over his safety to the point of out right forbidding him from going through. Of course being the type of child he was, inquisitive and rebellious, he had snuck away anyway and gone through before anyone could stop him.

What awaited him was something he'd never forget. Trees taller than the highest building in Uzushio, flowers of a million different shades and colours, most he'd never seen before. It hadn't been long before the first fox had appeared, it was easily the size of a house and was covered in dark lavender fur, its slender body and bright blue eyes made it, in Naruto's limited opinion, the most beautiful creature in existence.

After that he had been lead to an immense hole in the ground that turned out to be an massive tunnel system that housed thousands of differents kitsune of all shapes, sizes and tail counts.

The fox he had first met had turned out to be a female named Kira, a six tails who happened to be the daughter of the alpha fox and who he had immediately taken a liking to.

After meeting her father, who had been friendly enough, diplomacy had been opened with Uzushiogakure and soon enough an entire division of trainees had bonded with their own fox and had become the very first 'mounted division' in Uzushio history, it also happened to be around the time he had met Kurama, but that was a story for another time.

"I'm sorry Kura-chan, but these things take time"

When he received no answer he decided to leave the moody fox to her sleep before heading outside to speak to his senior officers. What awaited him, however, was what seemed to be a stand off between three Konoha Anbu and six kitsune sentries who snarled and growled at them in anger, tails flicking around in agitation.

Approaching the group in the hopes of quelling a potential fight, Naruto went about commencing clean up.

"What's going on here?!" He barked out, the kitsune quieting down instantly but never took their predatory eyes off of the intruders.

A group of his men approached from the side, snapping off a quick salute before one of them attempted to explain.

"Sorry for the disturbance sir, but these Konoha shinobi attempted to enter the camp without going through the main entrance or commencing with proper protocol"

Ah, he understood now, apparently Konoha shinobi weren't aware that sneaking into a heavily guarded military camp was a bad idea, especially one guarded by giant foxes.

"Alright I'll deal with it"

Stepping past the sentries Naruto presented himself before the nervous Anbu operatives, he noticed idly that their hands seemed to twitch at the side of their weapons every time a fox moved, interesting, apparently they weren't completely stupid.

"What's your business here Anbu-san?"

The Anbu in the middle, wearing a lizard mask, appeared to be the leader of the group and so answered steadily on behalf of the others.

"We were sent to request the presence of Naruto Uzumaki before the Konoha council immediately"

Naruto raised a brow, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"And you thought sneaking your way into a heavily guarded camp was the best way to do it? What's wrong with the main entrance?"

"This is our training field! We don't need permission to enter it as we please!" One of the others shouted, jumping slightly as one of the nearest foxes growled lowly at the raised tone.

"Not very intelligent are you?"

Another voice mocked, this one belonging to a young red headed girl that came to stand at Naruto's side, this girl was Kanna, Naruto's second in command and self proclaimed bodyguard. She wore the same armour as the rest of the division but, just like Naruto, had three tails instead of two. Her trusted companion and closest friend Niko stood by her side, her light blue fur on display beneath her armour despite regulations stating she had to keep it under the same genjutsu as the rest that turned it grey.

The Anbu bristled at the insult but was cut off by his commander.

"That's enough Raven, we've delivered our message, now's the time to go"

"Tell the council I'll be there shortly"

Nodding in response all three disappeared into the surrounding woodlands far out of sight.

"Did you really have to insult them Kanna?"

Kanna rolled her eyes heavenward before eyeing her commander as if talking to a child.

"You're too nice to strangers, one day it's gonna get you in trouble and I won't be there to save your ass"

Naruto gave a lopsided grin before gesturing for two of his men and their mounts to follow him.

"That'll never happen"

Kanna looked amused before unknowingly setting herself up for the inevitable embarrassment that awaited her.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder with a grin as he made his way over to the main entrance, preparing to head towards the Hokage's tower.

"Cause you like my ass too much!"

Laughing at the indignant and madly blushing red head behind him as she shouted profanities in his direction, Naruto paused for a second for her to stop her ranting about 'perverted blonds' and 'so not liking his ass', allowing her time to catch her breathe before he spoke.

"Well? Are you coming or not?"

Muttering under her breathe still, Kanna followed dutifully as they made their way towards the main road.

"You not bringing Kura-chan?"

"Nah she's in a bad mood again"

The trip to the Hokage's tower was an uneasy trek, the civilians were just being released from the bunkers and were coming face to face with Naruto's division. Most looked on in fear whilst a small population watched in confusion or just plain indifference. When they arrived at the tower they were escorted to a large room with a long table on a raised platform, a not so subtle way of making visitors feel inferior whilst stroking the inflamed ego of the ruling council.

Sat in the centre of the table were the Hokage's advisors, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, both had been the third Hokage's teammates and helped in the running of the village. To their left was the civilian representatives, a pink haired woman named Himari Haruno, a woman who believed more in her own importance than what was best for the village. A short, portly man, named Sora who represented the merchant district who was known for being a bit of a fat cat.

On the council's right was the majority of the clan heads, Tsume Inuzuka of the Inuzuka clan a feral looking woman and one Naruto had indirectly dealt with before, the ever stoic Shibi Aburame of the Aburame clan, the proud and straight faced Hiashi Hyuga of the esteemed Hyuga clan and finally the ever round Choza Akimichi of the Akimichi clan.

Naruto's group entrance stopped what ever conversation had been going on amongst the council, all eyes trained on their every movement as Naruto gestured for his two soldiers to take position at either side of the door, Kanna staying diligently one step behind him at his right side.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this summons?" Somewhere in that sentence, Hiashi was sure there was an insult.

Homaru stood from his seat to address the boy, yes as far as he was concerned Naruto was nothing but a child playing commander, he had not yet earned his rarely given respect.

"You have been called here Uzumaki-san, to discuss a set of orders we need you to carry out"

Naruto had a feeling that this conversation was not going to go smoothly.

"And why, exactly, do you believe you have the right to give me orders?"

Homaru looked down his nose at Naruto, adjusting his wire thin glasses before responding as if the answer should of been obvious.

"You are the Jinchuuriki of this village, therefore you are property of Konoha and are required by law to carry out any and all orders presented to you"

A flash of anger swept over Naruto's face but before he could say something that could potentially ruin any and all possibility of friendly conversation, Kanna stepped up to his side to address the room.

"Captain Naruto is a shinobi of Uzushiogakure and a member of our country's leading clan, the Uzumakis and is therefore not under your jurisdiction, further to this point is the fact that your Hokage released him into our custody on the day of his birth and is therefore a citizen of our village, not yours"

It was Homaru's turn to look angry now as he slapped a palm against the table in front of him.

"That boy is our Jinchuuriki and was born in this village, he will follow our orders!"

"I will do no such thing, and I suggest you rain in your tone when speaking to my second, she knows a hundred different ways to kill a man using a piece of paper and some blue tac, so I wouldn't upset her, or me for that matter"

Koharu rested a hand on her friend's shoulder to restrain him, she could see out of the corner of her eye the Uzumaki shinobi and their fox partners by the door taking a threatening step forward as if to reinforce Naruto's point.

"That's enough Homaru, arguing will get us nowhere"

Homaru reluctantly sat down, he couldn't help his temper, he had never agreed with sending the brat away and had always been the most vocal about it, that, and he never did like being told no.

Satisfied that her friend would not make things worse, she brought her attention back to the Uzushio shinobi and was relieved to see the men by the door retake their positions again, the last thing they needed was a fight.

"My apologies Uzumaki-san, if you would allow, I would like to start this conversation a new"

"Very well Koharu-san"

Nodding her head gratefully Koharu pulled a scroll from her sleeve and placed it on the table.

"It is of my understanding that you currently command a division of around a hundred well trained shinobi, is this correct?"

"It is, once my wounded and dead are sent back home we will receive reinforcements from our reserve unit to make up the numbers again"

"Then it is the wish of the council, under the advisement of our sannin, Jiraiya, that you use these forces and resources to help in the search of our other sannin, Tsunade"

Naruto looked sideways at Kanna who gave a slight nod, a sign that she would step down for now and not interfere unless he needed her to.

"And what exactly do we gain from such a request?"

Sora stood as fast as his short pudgy body could allow.

"Isn't the honour of serving our village enough? I would of thought a brat like you would jump at the chance to prove yourself to your betters" he sneered

Naruto calmly addressed the older man but there was a hint of distaste in his words.

"Last time I checked, I was worth more to this village due to my status and connections than some oversized greedy merchant, now sit down while I continue this discussion with people who know what they're talking about"

Ignoring the indignant shouts from the man and paying half attention to the amused snickering coming from a few of the shinobi, Naruto waited patiently for Koharu to reply.

"Well, what would you suggest in return for your help?"

Naruto took on a thinking pose, his right hand rubbing his chin whilst his left rested on his hip, despite the fact that he knew exactly what he wanted.

"I would suggest a fee for services rendered, this depending on the resources I can provide, for starters"

Koharu looked to her other council members and received many nods of agreement in return.

"Very well, that is certainly something we can discuss, anything else?"

"The promise that any future political talks between our villages will be treated with the utmost seriousness and respect due to our status as a shinobi village and world power"

"Ha, what world power? Your just an island in the middle of nowhere playing ninja" Himari mocked

Naruto rolled his eyes upward and inwardly cursed Kami for pompous civilians.

"Considering that we have a military that stands on equal grounds with all five hidden villages, in both number and ability, I don't think it's that hard to believe that we hold quite a bit of political power, despite the fact that we rarely contact the outside world, we have grown in large numbers since the attempted genocide by Iwa and Kumo"

Naruto locked eyes with Koharu and directed his full attention to her.

"I have one final request and if this is granted, I can assure you that the mission will be a success and that I will personally lead it"

"That being?"

Naruto stood prepared for what was no doubt going to be an outburst of anger.

"I want this village to relinquish what ever claim they have over me as their Jinchuuriki and to stay out of my business"

The room erupted immediately, council members crying out against the idea whilst Naruto noted curiously that the clan heads had remained silent.

Eventually the room quieted down when Hiashi stood from his seat.

"It is my belief that allowing this requirement would in fact not have any adverse affects on the village, he is, afterall, already a foreign shinobi unwilling to take our orders"

Having made his point Hiashi sat down whilst the previously arguing councilors quieted down completely and seemed to accept this point begrudgingly.

"Very well, then if there is nothing else to be said, I would like to move on to discussing the required fee"

The rest of the meeting was mostly bartering with prices and agreeing on how much help would be provided before finally an agreement was met and the meeting was over.

As the councilors left the room Naruto found himself being observed from a distance by the ever feral Tsume Inuzuka.

"Is there something I can do for you Inuzuka-san?"

Without a word Tsume seemed to look satisfied with what ever it was she was looking for before she too left the room.

Kanna glanced sideways at Naruto with a raised eyebrow

"What was that about?"

"Not sure, I have a few guesses but I'm sure we'll find out eventually, Tsume-san doesn't seem the type to stay quiet for long"

Nodding in agreement Kanna followed Naruto out of the building with their guards before coming across the hulking form of Jiraiya seemingly waiting for them with his arms crossed and his face stern.

"You kicked up quite a fuss in there brat"

"No more than was required, pervert"

Jiraiya's eye twitched slightly at the nickname, he was a super pervert dammit.

"I've made a list of places Tsunade will likely be, can you tell me what resources you have available for this mission?" He enquired.

Naruto took a small scroll from a pouch at his side that he handed to Jiraiya.

"I've been given permission to take a small group of my men and a portion of the division's supplies to assist in the search, the rest of my men will be sent home however"

"Exactly how small of a group are we talking about here?"

Jiraiya opened the scroll to reveal a list of names and supplies available for use. He was a bit disappointed to see only ten names with the relevant supplies but decided not to make a fuss, even a small group like this would help.

"I guess this'll do, here's the list I created, send your men to these points but warn them not to confront Tsunade, have them send word if they see her and I'll be the one to approach her"

Naruto took the list from Jiraiya and handed it to Kaana.

"Kaana, you gather the men and brief them on their mission, I'll prepare the rest of the division for departure"

"You're not joining the mission?" She asked

Naruto placed his hand on her armored shoulder in reassurance.

"I will meet up with you as soon as the rest of the division is sent home' for now, you have your orders"

Kaana nodded and with a quick salute, she mounted Niko and dashed away to complete her orders.

"You gonna tell me why a group of Genin as large as yours is so strong and combat effective?"

Naruto smirked slightly at the question, obviously this had been bothering the older ninja ever since their talk.

"No one in our village is allowed to join our shinobi forces until they've reached what you would consider Chunin level strength, even after that we are tested rigorously before being sent on our first 'outside the village' mission and almost every first mission requires the Genin to experience their first kill"

Jiraiya looked slightly disgusted at this statement, under his sensei's rule, Konoha had always tried to give their Genin as normal a childhood as a young shinobi could have, this meant delaying any mission that involved killing for as long as possible. To him, the practices of Uzushio were no different to the Bloody Mist, as it had come to be called, in the sense that they turned young ninja into nothing but killing machines.

"Don't look so put off, we have to be like this if we want to prevent another Iwa/Kumo incident, we must always be more prepared and more capable than any potential enemy"

He was loathed to admit it, which he would never do out loud, but the kid had a point, Uzushio hadn't been a large power back during the second shinobi world war but their prowess in seals made them a threat to any major or nonmajor force, add in their relationship with Konoha and they were a prime target for attack.

"That explains their skills then, I have to prepare for the search so I'll see you later kid"

He disappeared in a swirl of leaves and suddenly Naruto was on his own walking down an empty side street.

The sun beat down on him and he began to curse the lack of ventilation in his armour. Just as he was about to loosen a few straps to allow more air inside, he spotted a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye on top of a rooftop, not reacting immediately, Naruto calmly continued his walk, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists to loosen the joints in his fingers and his eyes shifting from place to place.

Another movement and suddenly Naruto found himself surrounded by several Konoha shinobi, some sat perched on rooftops whilst others stood in a wide circle around him, none, however, made another move, threatening or otherwise.

Keeping a wary eye on the new arrivals, Naruto idly noticed the red fangs marks on the cheeks of every shinobi and kunoichi present.

"So the Inuzuka clan pays me a visit, that's odd, I don't remember blowing my dog whistle"

"You got a smart mouth for a kid"

Naruto observed quietly as Tsume Inuzuka emerged from the shadows, an amused smirk on her face.

"Ah Tsume-san, I wondered when you would confront me"

Tsume chuckled darkly, then her amused smirk disappeared and her face turned stoney, her eyes hard.

"You owe an explanation boy"

Naruto returned the look with one of his own, his words holding a slight edge.

"I don't owe you anything"

Tsume lifted a hand and pointed directly behind him, her amused smirk returning full force.

"No, but I believe you owe one to her"

Spinning around Naruto extended his claws and deflected a barrage of kunai with one hand and blocked a strong kick with the other. Taking a good luck at his attacker revealed a young woman, around his age and an inch or two shorter, she had long, mane like brown hair and forest green, slitted eyes. Her face was narrow and full of femininity and if not for the animalistic growl and sharp, claw like nails, she would look like any normal kunoichi or civilian. Her name was Yui Inuzuka and she didn't look happy.

"Oh, h-hey Yui-chan, l-long time no see"

Yui didn't respond in the way he'd hoped, instead she leapt forward with a growl, her claws prepared to rip him apart.

"Ah shit"


	3. Pack on the Hunt

Naruto jumped away as Yui released an explosive fist into the ground at his feet, chunks of earth flying in every direction.

Naruto landed a short distance away just on the edge of the perimeter the clan members had created with their bodies, he tried to take a step back when Yui looked as if she would attack again but felt two large hands shove him forward away from his escape. Glancing behind him he saw the Inuzuka's blocking off his exit. With nowhere to go and reluctant to hurt those around him, Naruto stood up straight, he removed his helmet from a seal on his forearm and placed it securely on his head, his blue eyes turned red and gave him the appearance of a demonic, humanoid fox, his tails spread out behind him in an effort to make himself seem as big as possible.

The effect seemed to work as a few of the less experience members of the clan took a step away from the teenager, the primal instincts that gave their clan their ferocity worked against them as their most base emotions screamed at them the danger of the situation. Naruto smirked slightly, a bit of biju enforced killer intent helped too.

Not giving Yui a chance to react, Naruto shot forwards at incredible speeds to take a swipe at her midsection. Snapping out of her fear induced daze at the last second allowed Yui to take a step away from the strike before returning with a chakra infused punch aimed for his head. Naruto effortlessly, to everyone else, caught the attack in an armoured hand, on the inside however, he marvelled at the strength behind the punch and was suddenly reminded of the first time he met his opponent.

 **Flashback, six months ago.**

 _Naruto walked into the bar his target was located in. He'd been sent to Wave country to investigate the sudden poverty the country found itself in and was angered by his discovery. Gato, a short man in charge of a well known shipping company, had moved into the area and through underhanded tactics and cleverly hidden illegal dealings had been able to take over the country's entire shipping resource and had essentially taken complete control of what could come in and what could come out. With Gato now basically in charge, Wave had been sucked dry of all their resources and the people enslaved to the whims of an evil man with sick habits._

 _Scoping out the room and scanning over the few occupants, Naruto spotted his target chatting amongst a group of loud thugs who had obviously had too much to drink at this point. Naruto had forgone any of his armour and had instead chosen a simple travelling cloak that covered his worn black trousers and tight fitting black top, this allowed him to slip into the establishment without alerting anyone to his presence._

 _He took a seat a few tables down from the group, just within earshot but without looking like an eavesdropper._

 _"Ha! you should've seen him, bloody moron thought he could take on Gato and get away with it!" He heard one shout._

 _"Yeah but we dealt with him well enough! Just like the last fella!" Declared another._

 _Naruto understood the unsaid statement, obviously whoever had spoken out had been used as an example in some way and he could only conclude that it resulted in death._

 _"You two should be quiet, those loud mouths of yours will get you in trouble one day" his target, a tall, brown haired man by the name of Hizashi finally spoke up. Naruto had gotten word that this man had information about Gato that could be useful, whether he gave it willingly or not was another question, but not one that would cause him any real trouble._

 _"Oh come on Hizashi-san, lighten up, what could happen?"_

 _No sooner had the words left his mouth had numerous chains suddenly sprouted from the floor to wrap around them from head to toe, the alcohol in their system dulling their reflexes enough for them to be too slow to react. Naruto stood from his chair and approached the now immobile group, a set of chakra chains gripped firmly in his left hand. The other occupants in the room had long been rendered unconscious through a widespread seal that was normally used to break up riots but had been repurposed for his own personal use._

 _He approached the bundle of chains that covered his target and allowed the chains to uncover the top portion of Hizashi's head whilst leaving his mouth firmly sealed._

 _Hizashi looked up with startled eyes as the young blond stood before him, quiet and stoney faced._

 _"I have some questions Hizashi-san and I don't have much time to ask them, so I'll be blunt"_

 _The chains around Hizashi tightened to the point that he struggled to breath and a quick, direct application of killer intent made his muscles freeze up and tighten even further._

 _"Where is Gato?" Naruto snarled through gritted teeth, his calm, stoney demeanour had disappeared and was replaced by a red eyed, fanged visage of rage that was only intensified by his now visible tails that swung angrily from side to side behind him._

 _The chains loosened slightly and the chains covering his mouth retracted to allow him to speak. Hizashi at first took desperate gulps of air to refill his empty lungs and then when he had his fill began to ramble fearfully._

 _"I don't know I swear! I'm just a grunt I don't get told these things! Gato never tells anyone where he's going next and if he does it's only his personal bodyguards and-"_

 _The chains covered his mouth again and snuffed out whatever he tried to say next. Naruto looked at the man sternly as he pulled out a kunai._

 _"Don't lie to me, I know you're in charge of Gato's supply of wine and you'd have to know his next destination in order to supply him"_

 _Sweat began to gather on Hizashi's forehead and his body shook in terror. The chains were removed again to hear his answer._

 _"I can't tell you, he'll kill me!"_

 _"And I won't?"_

 _Hizashi shook even more violently now as Naruto pressed the tip of his kunai against the chains directly above his heart, he could feel the chains tig into his skin as Naruto pressed harder._

 _"I want his location, if I don't get it, I'm sure one of your friends will be more than willing to help"_

 _He dragged the kunai up the chains, the metal against chakra based metal making a crinkling sound as he finally brought the kunai to rest against Hizashi's throat._

 _"That would mean, of course, that I have no more use for you"_

 _Hizashi swallowed slowly, he felt his throat move around the kunai and he now knew, this is why you never cross a ninja._

 _"F-fine, he's here, in wave, he has a warehouse in the northern docks, he's expecting a d-delivery today of expensive spices"_

 _"Good, thank you for your help"_

 _The chains around Hizashi wrapped around his head again completely muffling whatever he tried to say next._

 _"I hate this bit" Naruto muttered to himself._

 _ **"Lightning chain"**_ __

 _An intense shock of lightning travelled through the chains to strike his captives, he felt the bodies seize for a second before going limp. The chains retracted from the corpses and let them drop to the floor, no evidence of their cause of death other than a smoking, burnt hole in either side of their heads._

 _Turning away from the scene Naruto was prepared to leave when he heard a voice approaching the door from the outside._

 _"Go scout out the nearby buildings, I'll be quick"_

 _The voice was obviously female, being of a softer, lighter tone and with Naruto's enhanced senses he could pick up what smelt a lot like dog to him._

 _Quick to establish a plan of action Naruto disappeared into the rafters lining the roof and hid in the shadows, watching like a reaper from above as a young woman with long, brown, mane like hair entered the room wearing a travelling cloak similar to his own. Her forest green eyes, which he noted were just as slitted as his own, widened in shock when she saw the unconscious patrons and smoking corpses._

 _Naruto was prepared to jump down and knock the girl out but was shocked when she suddenly looked up into the rafters and straight into his blue eyes._

 _"I know you're up there!"_

 _Naruto, seeing no point in hiding anymore, jumped down to land on the other side of the room. He noticed irritably that the stranger was currently blocking the entrance and no other exit seemed available._

 _"You should leave miss, this doesn't concern you" he said gruffly, he had covered his head with his hood before jumping down in the hopes of keeping his identity secret._

 _"Like hell it's not my business, you just murdered a bunch of civilians!"_

 _Naruto's flinch at the word 'murdered' went unnoticed by the girl and so she wasted no time lunging at him. Naruto side stepped her swipe and noticed that her nails had turned hard and lengthened to a point, creating a pair of deadly claws that he had no doubt would hurt. He continued to dodge swipe after swipe hoping the girl would wear herself out all the while trying to figure out her own identity and possible affiliation._

 _His questions were answered for him when two, red, fang like tattoos appeared on her cheeks, obviously hidden by a genjutsu that had fallen with lack of concentration._

 _"You're an Inuzuka?"_

 _The girl stopped her attacks for a second as if to ask how he knew until she realised that she couldn't feel the effects of her genjutsu anymore. Panicking at her discovery she threw several smoke bombs at the ground, each exploding into a widespread cloud of smoke that covered her attempted escape._

 _Unknown to her was Naruto's advanced sense of smell, he picked up her scent easily and gave pursuit.  
"If she blabs about me being here, I'll never get to Gato before he disappears again" he murmured._

 _The scent lead him to the surrounding woodland that stretched across most of the country, she moved at a surprising speed but it wasn't enough to lose him as he got in close enough to wrap a tail around her ankle and with a yank pulled, her feet from under her._

 _She collided with the ground with a heavy thump, the force of the landing rattled her brain enough to throw her into dizziness._

 _Naruto landed just behind her, just as he was contemplating what to do with the kunoichi, a brown blur tackled him from the side sending him crashing into a nearby tree. Shaking off the spots that had appeared in his vision,Naruto looked up into the eyes of a large brown canine, approximately half the size of Kurama the beast of a dog stood protectively over his partner, large fangs bared and a low snarl vibrating from the back of its throat._

 _"Thanks Kono-kun"_

 _Naruto pulled himself back to his feet at the same time as the women, both unwilling to make a move just yet._

 _"What's a Konoha nin doing in Uzushio territory?"_

 _"Since when is Wave country part of Uzushio?"_

 _"Since the Treaty of the Tides two years ago, Konoha's spy network must be lacking if they didn't know that"_

 _The woman bristled at the taunt but daren't make a move out of anger._

 _"What's your name kunoichi?"_

 _She thought to deny him her name but seeing as he already knew she was from Konoha and an Inuzuka, it wouldn't take much to locate her anyway._

 _"Yui Inuzuka, yours?"_

 _"Naruto"_

 _She raised an eyebrow as she waited for a last name but when she received none she guessed that was all he'd give._

 _"Well as fun as this little meet and greet has been, I need to get back home, Naruto-san, and you're in my way"_

 _Yui started a chain of hand signs that Naruto hadn't seen before and because of this, he unsealed his clawed gauntlets from his forearm and secured them into place._

 _ **"Man beast clone reversal jutsu!"**_ __

 _Yui disappeared in a cloud of smoke whilst Kono kept a close eye on the wary Naruto. When the smoke dissipated, the only figure left behind was a canine of obvious likeness to Kono, only noticeably female in build._

 _Both canines growled before shooting towards Naruto, he was caught off guard by the transformation and so was unable to block the dual takedown that sent him off his feet and rolling across the ground. He attempted to stand but was sent flying backwards when two airborne twisters hit him dead on in a painful attack that broke two of his ribs._

 _ **"Gatsuga!"**_ __

 _The same thing went on for a while, every time he attempted to stand he would be knocked back on his ass. Breathing heavily and covered in bruises, Naruto finally managed to stand without being knocked down, his opponents watched on from a distance, either recovering chakra or silently mocking him, he wasn't sure._

 _"Alright, enough of this"_

 _He wiped away a trail of blood coming from his mouth with his sleeve, he hadn't wanted to hurt Yui, but this was getting annoying, and as the proud leader of a Kitsune division, it was his job to put these mutts in their places._

 _Yui and Kono rushed forward again with the intent of finishing the fight with one last attack. In response Naruto gathered his chakra for a jutsu he had yet to use in actual combat._

 _ **"Kitsune art: transformation!"**_ __

 _Instead of a cloud of smoke, Naruto seemed to blink out of existence causing them to stop their attack. They looked around every where they could but couldn't find them. A sudden whiff of fox caught their attention but they were too late to react as a blood red blur came out of nowhere, Kono was thrown against a tree so hard he was knocked unconscious and Yui was batted away into a nearby boulder, only just clinging on to consciousness._

 _Yui looked up at her attacker and was taken aback by the new figure that stood before her. A blood red, three tailed fox stood at twice her height and build, flecks of blonde fur made the fox seem like a living fire and its eyes glowed with a power that had not been present before._

 _Quicker than she could blink the fox form of Naruto was upon her, he batted her aside with his massive paw sending her airborne and crashing through multiple thick trees with such velocity that she could feel her spine take damage unlike anything she'd suffered before._

 _She landed on the shore of a wide river, it's pebble beach dug into her flank and sent shrapnel flying in a deadly wave._

 _She stood with a grunt to face her attacker. He crouched amongst the shrub, the trees covering him in darkness to the point where only his faint outline and glowing blue eyes could be seen. He was a devil of the forest to her eyes, a demon waiting to drag her into an eternal abyss that would swallow her up and never let go._

 _Naruto observed the weakened Yui from a distance, fighting in this form was dangerous for him, not only did it take up half of his chakra in order to triple his kitsune chakra, a separate pool of chakra that resided within himself as a third power, but it also took every ounce of his self control not to be taken over by the severely heightened animal instincts, and at this time, they were telling him that a female was here and she had yet to submit._

 _Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts he stepped out into the sunlight, ready to fight if she tried._

 _Yui knew she was no match for him now, his power seemed to of tripled and it did not feel like a human power, yet she would not go down so easy, her pride as a kunoichi and an Inuzuka was on the line._

 _Lunging forward with a snarl she decided to allow her more primal instincts to take control._

 _Naruto was surprised by the sudden ferocity behind her attacks while he dodged claws and teeth as she attempted to rip his throat out. He felt something inside him react to the way she now fought and soon the battle was no different than if two dogs were fighting over a strip of meat._

 _They ripped, they tore and no body part was left without some form of wound. Naruto felt himself losing more and more control over his actions and decided to end it there and then. When she attempted to clamp her jaws around his front paw he raised up on his hind legs and slammed down on her back, pinning her beneath him. When she looked as if she would renew her fighting, Naruto closed his jaws around her throat, his sharpened teeth digging into her jugular but not piercing the skin._

 _The message was clear, submit or else._

 _Yui felt herself return to her senses, the last ten minutes were a blurry memory that she could not clear. When she looked down her transformed snout, she came face to face with the fox formed Naruto with his jaws around her throat. When he made no move to finish her, she recognised the unsaid message from her experiences from watching the ninken at home fighting for dominance. Realising that she had no other choice, she slowly rolled onto her back, her tail between her legs and ears flat against her head._

 _Satisfied with the show of submission, he released her throat and stood over her, a single paw resting on her chest to keep her still, neither noticed a faint trace of chakra being exchanged, nor did they notice a small insect flying away from within Yui's fur._

 _"I think that's enough, don't you?"_

 _She nodded once and was allowed to stand._

 _"Good, now, how about something more human?"_

 _Both released their techniques at the same time, returning to their human forms covered in scratches, bruises and a few deep gashes that bleed heavily._

 _Both collapsed onto the ground as their injuries caught up with them, their adrenaline leaving their system and bodies bare to the pain._

 _Eventually Naruto's inhuman healing ability finally healed the wounds enough to leave a few scars that would disappear with time and rest. As soon as he could, he used what limited healing jutsu he knew to help the now unconscious Yui back to a stable condition. Satisfied that she would not die anytime soon he ran damage control over his mission._

 _He carried Yui to where Kono was still unconscious, breathing still, thankfully.  
He took a roll of ninja wire from his undamaged pouch and tied Yui to the nearest tree, Kono tied up nearby._

 _He left a note letting her know that the ninja wire had a seal that would release it within the next four hours and that she should head home immediately. After fully recovering in a nearby inn, Naruto continued with his mission that ended up being a success, Gato was assassinated and Uzushio took control over his assets through a third party, when he arrived at where he had left Yui he found his ninja wire discarded on the ground and no sign of the Konoha nin, he didn't see Yui or Kono again. He did however hear from Hiruzen that Tsume Inuzuka was after him._

 **Flashback end, present time.**

"You left me tied to a tree!"

He blocked another punch aimed for his chest.

"I failed my mission because of you!"

He sliced through a kunai she threw, sending it flying away from him in separate pieces.

"And then you had the gall to mark me!"

He froze slightly and was rewarded by a punch to the face, though his helmet prevented any damage he was still knocked back a few steps.

"W-what do you mean I marked you?! I healed all your injuries!" He yelled, surely all of this wasn't over some scar was it?

"You think this is over an injury?!"

"W-well yeah, how else could I have marked you?"

The young woman seemed visibly shocked as did the others present but then that shock turned to anger as she unzipped her chunin vest enough to expose her neck.

"Like this you moron!"

As if burnt into her flesh, a swirl of red and yellow rested on her neck just above her right collar bone. Naruto stared wide eyed as he suddenly understood the full implications of the situation. He was about to ask how it could of happened when a thunderous roar echoed throughout the street. A dark grey blur the size of a house crashed into the street, towering over the ninja.

Kurama stood in all her armoured glory, she had grown to the size of a two storey house and had grown an extra three tails in addition to the three she had before. The shinobi froze in fear, the resemblance to the attack fourteen years ago was uncanny and frightening. Kurama stood over Naruto, her giant body preventing anyone from getting near him without being crushed.

In a fit of panic a few of the less experienced Inuzuka and their canine partners began going through the hand seals of whatever direct attack they had available. Recognizing the imminent danger, Kurama swept her tails around her to knock the shinobi and nin-ken away from her, breaking the perimeter that had surrounded them.

She bellowed another earth shattering roar that further cemented the shinobi into where ever they had landed.

"Kura-chan, stop!"

Kurama looked down at Naruto, he was standing firmly between her and the Inuzuka's blocking any attack she might make, she reluctantly stopped her attacks, though she stayed tense and alert just in case.

Satisfied that his friend would not cause a diplomatic disaster, Naruto turned to the fallen shinobi who were struggling to pick themselves up.

"I'm sorry Kurama attacked you, but you did have it coming, attacking a foreign shinobi who is not only an ally of your village but also under diplomatic protection was never going to end well, no matter the reason"

Tsume and Yui pulled themselves from the rubble of a nearby empty shop, scratched and bruised but no worse for ware.

Yui stumbled slightly on a stray brick but was caught in a pair of armoured arms.

"Look, I don't know why you have my clan mark on you, I certainly don't remember initiating any sort of claim ritual, but if there is a way to undo this, maybe we can find it together"

Yui pulled away from his arms, her face red with either embarrassment or anger he wasn't sure. She looked up at him in suspicion, not truly trusting him not to take advantage and claiming what was, by law of both clans, his.

"How can I trust you? I don't even know you"

Naruto nodded slowly, she did have a point, he was a foreign shinobi who she had only met once before and that was just after he killed a group of thugs and resulted in her being tied to a tree.

"I understand, maybe an agreement can be met between both clans? Something official and law binding?"

Yui looked to Tsume who stood off to one side, the older woman gave a small nod in agreement and Yui's apprehension lessened slightly.

"Fine, come to our clan grounds when you can, we'll talk officially then"

Yui leapt away alongside her fellow clan members and Naruto was left alone on the street with a still cautious Kurama standing over him.

"Why did you hold back? You could have ended that easily"

Although it was a question, to Naruto it sounded more like an accusation. It was true, though, if he had wanted to he could have taken down Yui and most of the shinobi that had surrounded him, he was no fool however, he was still only a Chunin level shinobi without Kurama's chakra. With his current control over her chakra and his kitsune transformation jutsus, he could push lower to mid Jounin for a limited time before he became exhausted and overwhelmed.

"That wouldn't of solved anything, there were a few Jounin amongst them and I'm not far enough in my training to be able to take them on and believe it or not, they're still our allies"

Kurama snorted but didn't bother replying, silly human notions were beneath her anyway. Her chakra bubbled over her as she shrank down to her original size, three of her six tails disappearing as she did.

"We need to head back to camp, we have a mission from our allies" he said the last word with only a hint of irritation but Kurama chose not to add fuel to a fire that was only an ember, she knew that if encouraged, he would go into a rant that she would never be able to shut up.

He mounted the leather saddle on her back with practiced ease, before both spread away from the scene. Anbu and various property owners would have a busy afternoon after some of the damages caused.

Deep within the underground tunnels of konoha, a dark figure sat behind a desk in an office like room, his fingers steepled in front of him as he contemplated the information he had just received from one of his subordinates.

'The first part of my plan is a success, the Jinchuuriki has unknowingly been caught in a web that has taken years to weave' he spread two folders across the table, opening both to reveal a pair of pictures supported by a list of information, both pictures and the information were unseen by all but him in the dark room. The first picture was of a young blonde male but the second was hidden by the shadows, the person's identity known to only him.  
'If I can get him an emotional attachment within the village, I can use it against him and finally Konoha will have the power it deserves and with that power, I shall bring about a new era, under a new leadership'

His malicious grin shone throughout the room, his one eye gleaming with sadistic glee.

Chapter end

 **A/N: hello there, my first author's note of the story, don't worry there won't be many. Just needed to say that I'm not 100% happy with this chapter, I think there were a few things I either missed or failed to write to standard but can't at this time figure out what, exactly, it is.**

 **Apart from that, thankyou very much for your reviews they please me greatly :) feel free to PM me if you have questions, I may at some point do a poll over who Naruto will be paired with, either Yui, Kanna or someone else (I do have my own favourite but i will take into consideration your opinions too). I am also aware that he is very OOC but I will try my best to involve some of his canon personality as best I can to keep him as closely relatable to the Naruto we all know and love :)**

 **Please review and leave a favourite :)**


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